I have beef with this cover - why is his head turned like that? Anyways, a sweet romcom with second chance which is one of my favorite tropes! I wasn’t blown away by it and it didn’t seem like anything deep but it was entertaining enough!

Parts of this book made me giggle from the nostalgia of growing up during the same era as the characters.

Being in education, social studies (history) education, the same as the main characters, really helped me to connect with them as well. I understood the love of historical places, the reading of books that others might find boring, and the unending amount of research that goes into it on the academic side.

I’m not normally a fan of second chance romances or friends to lovers. However, I found myself wanting to know why they fell out and if it was fixable since they seem to be perfect for each other.

* Special thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Adore second chance romance tales, like this one, with relatable MCs whose slow burn makes me swoon! Such fun!

Review to come.

Love the cover✔️
Interesting description ✔️
New Author to me ✔️

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC ❤️

*3.5 stars rounded up* Thank you NetGalley and Kristyn J. Miller for a digital advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Given Our History is your pretty standard cozy second chance romance/friends to lovers story. Every other chapter (mostly) was flashbacks throughout the couple's history as best friends to a short FWB stint, to falling out and ultimately reuniting as college professors at the same school. I enjoyed learning about their story and thought that was done very well. The MMC was sweet. The FMC was pretty hard to like, so her sister Reagan was a breath of fresh air. I didn't feel particularly connected to the characters and thought the story could have used a bit more drama. That being said, I did appreciate that the author did not use a miscommunication trope after the couple reunites - that is the WORST part of reading some second chance romances. I was glad to see that their characters developed enough to know better than to not properly communicate as adults. Some of the career subplot of the FMC's story was a little too drawn out and repetitive. Romantically, it was a cute story and some really great romantic writing within the MMC's dialogue. If you like a sweet second chance romance, I'd recommend this.

Clara and Teddy, two homeschooling prodigies, form a deep bond at camp which evolves into a childhood friendship. However, their connection is tested when Teddy pursues early college admission.

This engaging dual timeline story of childhood friends reclaiming lost time captivated me from the start. The homeschooling aspect added depth to their relationship, and the rekindling of their chemistry after nine years apart felt palpable. A solid 4-star read!

I want to express my gratitude to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin's Griffin for providing this ARC. My review reflects my honest opinions.

Clara is a driven lady who wants to share her passion for History with those around her. She has been so focused on her passions and work that she hasn't dedicated anytime her love life.

This second chance romance is a perfect fall read with its setting in academia and seasonal imagery. Reading this book is like being wrapped in a soft blanket on a cool autumn day – warm and cozy, and feeling perfectly content to stay right there enjoying the story. It is well-written, with genuinely likeable characters and a believable plot.

The novel is a conventional telling of the “right person, wrong timing” of Clara and Teddy, who become friends as awkward teenagers, and have the ups and downs of their relationship rolled out through flashback chapters skillfully mixed with present day narrative. This is a story that savors the journey as much as the destination and each step of their relationship feels real. And I loved Clara and Teddy, individually and as a couple. [I wish this story had been a dual POV because Teddy is so quiet and thoughtful that I would have loved to have more of a peek inside his head].

I really enjoyed reading this feel-good romance and I thank NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Kristyn J. Miller for the advanced copy of this book.

The fall setting in this book is PERFECT. I really enjoyed Clara and Teddy's story as this is my first book form Kristyn. I would definitely pick up another title by her.

Not my typical read... but it was an ARC that sounded like I'd like it. This story had SO much potential, but my goodness it was bogged down with too much wordiness. If there was a way to streamline the story a bit, it would at least 4 stars. The author wrote a wonderful story, it just spent too much time in the details that didn't add to the story.

It's the classic tale of right person, wrong timing.

Clara and Teddy are childhood friends. Theirs was a friendship that kept teetering on going beyond friends BUT the timing was never right. They were always physically worlds apart and bogged down with so many responsibilities that they couldn't be together. Their friendship eventually goes its separate ways with words left unsaid... UNTIL they are both working at the same university and sharing the same office and they FINALLY have to hash out those feelings once more. But what happens when Teddy's temporary status is up, and if Clara get tenure?! It seems timing is always against them...

***disclaimer this is an open door romance but its not the central point of the story.

Thank you to Netgalley for approving this early read of this book, the opinions are my own.

This book is written very well! I marveled at the descriptions and admired the way they're put together. That said, the romance didn't quite ignite for me. I felt like the two leads lacked chemistry or maybe I just didn't connect to either one. The whole thing felt a little bland. My rating is 3.5, but I rounded up because, again, I found the writing strong, which is what kept me turning the pages. If this wasn't alerted for me via a Net Galley email, I probably wouldn't have read it.

I'm a sucker for a second chance romance and this one was a sweet slow burn with two very likeable characters. It would be a perfect cozy book for fall or winter!

I couldn't finish this. I hate to be that person, but the writing and pace was just not for me. I might revisit it another time.

- The main characters have A LOT of the miscommunication/stubbornness trope that they have to get through.
- Alternating timeline between our main couple's past and present.
- Love a romance centered in academia.

3 stars

This was a very cute second chance romance and friends to lovers story. This story is told in two different timelines. It jumps between present day where our two main characters are history professors to when they were two kids being homeschooled and meeting at camp every summer.
I ate this book up. It was a very light and cozy read. I highly recommend!

This romance is a mix of tropes: second chances, miscommunication, friends to lovers set in academia. Clara and Teddy met as kids at camp and became friends. At one point they had the timing wrong and went their separate ways. Now, fate has brought them back together again.

Can they learn from their mistakes and make it second time around? This was a quick read. I

Thank you St Martins Press and Netgalley for the arc.

A sweet friends to lovers with a second chance trope. I liked this one enough to give it 3 stars but there wasn't anything that grabbed me and made me feel something earth shattering or memorable necessarily about their story. Our main characters were both homeschooled and meet at a sleep away camp for kids that were homeschooled. They see their unique gravitation to learning and history as a common thread and grow over the years through email and phone calls and exchanges of gifts. There is a lot of pop-culture from the 90's (some of which I recognized but some is very specific to a particular type of crowd and so it got lost on me a bit). There is a lot of college professor language that provided some education on how tenure is achieved but also how tedious the requirements seem. The actual love story doesn't have a lot of push/pull because there is a 10 year gap in their communication. The fall-out seems like a good conversation could have resolved it which says a lot about young love and how we don't actually mature into ourselves until late 20's-30's. There are a couple of spicy scenes that helped with the romantic chemistry but by the time we got there I was a little ....bored. Thank you for the ARC and the chance to leave my honest review.

I can’t express how much I needed a romance with 2 professors. This book was amazing! With a complicated romance between two characters that you can’t stop wanting to read about. I needed Clara and Theodore in my life

A short, cozy read. I enjoyed the academia setting. The bouncing from past to present was a bit much at time, but overall an enjoyable read. Perfect for a quick read on trip or a beach day.

I found this to be a subtle, poignant, and grounded romance, one that does the second-chance, friends-to-lovers, right-person-wrong-time thing so well without resorting to cheap tricks to ratchet up the drama. These kinds of contemporary romances - the quieter, less flashy, more realistic ones - are underappreciated, in my opinion.

All romantic relationships require three things: chemistry, compatibility, and timing. And goodness, do I love a book where the characters have the first two but take a while to get the timing right. Maybe it’s the angst and the pining, both very well handled here - just the right amount without feeling forced or muted.

Clara and Teddy are clearly meant for each other, it just takes them a while to get their priorities in order. So thankful I got to read their journey towards getting their timing right.

4.5 stars, rounding up to 5. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy of this book, provided in exchange for my unbiased opinion.